WWE Reveals When Rhea Ripley Will Choose WrestleMania Opponent
WWE has revealed when Rhea Ripley will announce who she will be facing at WrestleMania 39 this April. Ripley outlasted 29 other WWE superstars during this year's women's Royal Rumble match. Ripley entered the match at number one and eliminated both Asuka and Liv Morgan at the end to punch her ticket to "The Grandest Stage of Them All." In a video posted on WWE's Twitter account, Byron Saxton revealed that Ripley will announce which championship she'll go after during the January 30 episode of "WWE Raw."
Ripley became the first female in the short history of women's Royal Rumble matches to win the whole thing as the first entrant. She's also just the fourth WWE superstar to win the match having entered at number one.
Now, Ripley gets to choose between a shot at the WWE "Raw" Women's Championship, or the WWE "SmackDown" Women's Championship. Bianca Belair is the top female champion on "Raw," while Charlotte Flair holds the blue brand's prized possession.
Ripley has history with both Belair and Flair. The final two participants in the 2021 women's Royal Rumble match were Ripley and Belair, both of whom had worked their way onto WWE's main roster through the "NXT" brand. Ultimately, Belair won the match and went on to capture the WWE "SmackDown" Women's Championship from Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37.
On night two of WrestleMania 36 back in 2020, Ripley put the "NXT" Women's Championship on the line against Flair, who won the match via submission. This was Ripley's first WrestleMania match. It's clear Ripley has a score to settle with both champions, but it won't take long to find out which one has her attention this WrestleMania season.